REVIEW 256: TWO STATES

Abhishek Varman’s 2
States is not so much a love story between Ananya Swaminathan and Krish
Malhotra, as it is the tale of a young couple from differing cultural
backgrounds wooing their respective families. It’s based on the book 2 States: The Story Of My Marriage by
Chetan Bhagat. The film takes us from IIM-Ahmedabad where Ananya and Krish first
meet, to their early professional lives and their struggles to get her happily
married, traditional (though not painfully so) Tamilian mom and dad, his good-hearted
but crude, all-Punjabi mother and estranged, alcoholic father to all get along.
Why not avoid the trauma, run away and get married? Answer: because Ananya – an
interesting mix of tradition and modernity – wants their parents to be present
and happy at their wedding.

Those who have read 2
States know how it will end. Either way, it’s not the climax but the
treatment of the journey that makes this an under-stated, uncommon mainstream romance.
Five Point Someone, the only Chetan
Bhagat book that I’ve read, led me to conclude this about the man: that his
language is deplorably mediocre but there’s a kernel of common sense at the
heart of what he’s saying, which can’t be ignored. In fact, FPS was a far more balanced assessment
of the Indian education system than the more populist,
everything’s-wrong-with-it approach adopted by Rajkumar Hirani’s
much-acclaimed, hugely entertaining film adaptation, 3 Idiots. The feeling about Bhagat remains, now that I’ve seen the
celluloid version of 2 States.

The film’s core strength is that while it revolves around
cultural clashes, it does not resort to the irritating, sometimes nauseating community
clichés that Bollywood usually favours. The Malhotras and Swaminathans are more
like the Punjabis and Tamilians that I’ve had as neighbours, friends, colleagues
and classmates all my life: yes there are social differences and specific
characteristics, yet Ananya’s people are not oily-haired or cowardly, nor do you
hear them say “Ayaiyyo”every step of the way; and Krish’s
relatives don’t break into Bhangra, get belligerent or say “O paappe” at the drop of a hat. More to
the point, in the virtual lack of differences between Krish and Ananya when
they’re outside home territory, we see the reality of so many city-bred Indians,
rooted in their ethos yet citizens of the world, who would and could blend in
wherever they go.

Varman’s writing speaks to us gently of the many reasons
why Indian parents object when children pick their own life partners, even in
2014. Sometimes it’s societal pressure; sometimes caste and other narrow-minded
considerations; sometimes a genuine worry about whether their beloved child can
handle differing customs and find acceptance in her/his partner’s family; but
most of the time (though political correctness holds us back from saying this
often enough) it’s an ego hassle that leads them to object for the heck of
objecting, like when Krish’s Mom assumes from the start that that damned “Madrasan”
must have trapped her son, because Punjabis are so white that any southern
Indian girl would be dying to get hitched to a Punj boy.

I can imagine people out there saying, “par Alia Bhatt Madrasan toh nahin dikhti hai,”
for obvious reasons. Well, the varying shades of skin colour within both clans in
this film is an unspoken message to those who are fixated on the differences in
complexion of various communities in India, to those who assume that “sab Punjabi gorey hotey hai aur sab Madrasi
kaaley hotey hai”, but most especially to those who think white is
beautiful and black is ugly.

The proceedings unfold on screen in an unhurried manner,
as though they are real-time events. The snuggling and coupling in the early
part of the film is fluffy, fun and sweet (even if the portrayal of IIM-A is superficial
and factually off the mark); the parivaar
saga later on is moving and feels authentic. There’s humour throughout, low-key
and not raucous. The measured tone must be credited to Namrata Rao’s editing complementing
Varman’s direction and writing (he’s done the screenplay, with dialogues by
Husain Dalal).

Of the songs created by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, none are as
rousing as their best work in Dil Chahta
Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Bunty aur Babli, Salaam-e-Ishq and Rock On. Two
numbers – Offo and Locha-e-Ulfat – are also positioned too
close to each other within the film. However, the rest of the songs are blended
well into the narrative and Mast Magan
is really nice.

Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor inhabit the characters of
Ananya and Krish with a level of comfort that belies their lack of experience.
He’s becoming more easy before the camera with each film; she’s got a natural
talent for acting that was inexplicably left untapped in her debut film Student Of The Year. He’s got brooding
eyes, and a manner about him that would make a woman want to protect him; she’s
pretty and charming on screen. Together they manage to whip up some sparks in
the rough and tumble of their bedsheets at IIM; and later, to convey to us the
pain of their separation and family squabbles.

The supporting cast is excellent, headlined by Amrita
Singh who seems to be sinking her teeth into her second innings in Bollywood. Here
she is given the task of playing a Punjabi mother who is crude yet not the
usual breast-beating, loud, over-the-top Punjaban played by Kirron Kher in a
number of films (fun to watch at first, but repetitive after a point, for no
fault of the actress). Singh rises to the challenge, delivering a delightfully
nuanced performance, vastly different from her impressive evil turn in 2013’s Aurangzeb. Ronit Roy as her husband is just
as striking. As a result, some of 2
States’ most powerful scenes are within the Malhotra home.

The lovely Revathy and Shiv Kumar
Subramaniam play Ananya’s parents who are poorly fleshed out in comparison. This
is the film’s major failing: that we find ourselves involved with the Malhotras
whereas the Swaminathans remain distant figures. The relationship between Krish
and his mother in particular has both depth and detail, far more even than the
relationship between Krish and Ananya. Mr and Mrs Swaminathan, on the other
hand, are given short shrift.

The defence
could be that this is a story told from Krish’s point of view. Still, when a
film is called 2 States, you want to
know equally about both states, not just one. I was also disturbed by the “dil ka buraa nahin hai” attitude that
surfaces in the end towards the emotionally abusive Mr Malhotra whose presence usually
hints at a threat of physical violence. Worrisome, because this is the line almost
always taken to condone physically abusive husbands.

The
screenplay has some rough edges that required more work. For instance, the
narrative device of getting the hero to recount the story from a psychiatrist’s
couch doesn’t serve any particular purpose, and a back-and-forth in time at one
point gets confusing. A straightforward narration would have just made more
sense. Early on in the film, the exceedingly bright Ananya who is an Economics
topper at the graduation level, seems inexplicably clueless about Economics
theories in her IIM class. Why? Possibly in a bow to Chetan Bhagat who would
have been in IIM-A in the early 1990s, Krish is shown working on a manual
typewriter – except that the film is set in today’s India where this dated device
in the hands of a 20-something Delhi boy who is an IIM student seems ludicrous.

That being
said, 2 States is moody, low-key, pleasant
yet steeped in the idiosyncracies that mark relationships even in contemporary,
seemingly forward-thinking India. It revolves around a likeable lead pair, and is
unusual in tenor as Bollywood romances go. With all its flaws, it touches the heart and had me rooting
for Ananya and Krish to end up together. When that happens in a film, you know
it’s worked.

3 comments:

I may not be wrong if I opine that "This would be Amrita Singh's best ever performance" - And the Bhatt Babe CAN act !! Agree that the Swaminathan's role dint get the emotive connect that the Punjabi couples characterization allowed but enjoyed the bits of drink session of the father and the song sequence of the mother at the event. Ronit's character was sharply conceived and the actor delivered his part with aplomb..thoroughly enjoyed the movie. for once say a hindli flick without reading your review ;-) and i was lucky to savor a fine caper !

I had thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, especially because I read it at the same time as with my South Indian neighbours! :) The movie is slow paced and sweet but not half as funny as the book. The cultural differences were highlighted better there, without being over the top. Revathi was a delight to watch.. especially when she sang my favourite song from Love :)

2 STATES MOVIE FACTS TO LEARN: 1.) Tamil gals can start friendship with Punjabi guy very easily. 2.) boys can goto gals hostel and even enter gals room without wardens permission. 3.) gals can goto boys hostel and even enter boys room without wardens permission. 4.) boy can propose a gal in the middle of a campus interview and interviewers allow that too. 5.) company can transfer people immediately from Delhi to Chennai as people wish. 6.) parents come for convocation from Delhi, Chennai to Mumbai immediately 7.) if u teach to do a powerpoint presentation to your father in law and encourage your mother in law to be singer both will be impressed. 8.) Ananya solves marriage problem which parents cannot solve in just 5 minutes. these reasons are good enough to call this film " Raddi film "

About Me

Anna MM Vetticad is an award-winning journalist, journalism teacher and author of the critically acclaimed bestseller The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic, an overview of the Hindi film industry presented through an account of a year in which she watched every single Bollywood film released in India’s National Capital Region. A journalist since 1994, she has worked with India Today, The Indian Express and Headlines Today. At HT she hosted her own interview show Star Trek which drew all India’s eminent entertainment personalities. While Anna has spent most of her career as a behind-the-scenes editorial person, she has also reported on most major Indian entertainment and lifestyle events and several international ones including Cannes and the Oscars, in addition to being the film critic for Headlines Today. She is currently reporting and writing for multiple publications on cinema and social issues with a focus on gender concerns. The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic is available on amazon.com, ebay.in, flipkart.com, ombooksinternational.com, ombooks.com, infibeam.com, homeshop18.com and dialabook.in among other websites, and in stores across India. Twitter: @annavetticad